Iowa State will play this afternoon before taking the week off for finals and then head down to Des Moines this weekend to face drake.

Last Time Out

The Cyclones got outworked in Iowa City and were taken down 98-84. In defeat, Iowa State was led by 21 points from Talen Horton-Tucker, his third 20-point game of the season. Marial Shayok posted 19 points, Michael Jacobson 12 and Tyrese Haliburton 10.

Both teams started off with strong shooting efforts, but it was the Hawkeyes that were able to maintain it. The Cyclones were ahead 24-21 with 11 minutes to go, but Iowa went on a 13-0 run which saw the Cyclones go scoreless for almost five minutes and the Hawkeyes swooped ahead.

The visitors did well to get back into the frame, as the Cyclones were able to bring the Iowa advantage down to three points on a 3-pointer from Nick Weiler-Babb at 39-36. However, the Hawkeyes shot 17-of-30 from the field in the first 20 minutes giving Iowa a 45-38 halftime lead.

The Cyclones got the first five out of the break to bring the Hawkeye lead down to two, but Iowa came right back with a 14-2 run to bring its lead back into double figures at 63-47. The Hawkeyes would expand its lead to as many as 20 points at times in the second half.

The Cyclones were able to reel in Iowa a little bit, bringing the deficit down to eight points. They just were never able to find that extra gear to make it any closer and the Cyclones eventually fell to the in-state rival.

About Southern

Southern is 1-8 on the season thus far and their last time out they were beaten by South Dakota State 101-92. Iowa State and Southern will meet for the fourth time. The Cyclones hold a 3-0 edge, with all games being played at Hilton Coliseum. With the most recent meeting coming in 2014 with Iowa state winning 88-78 with Georges Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones leading the Cyclones with 18 points each.

This season Southern is one of the worst teams in the NCAA according to KenPom. They are ranked 337 out of 353 teams. Their offense is ranked 288th and the defense is practically dead last.

Opponent Player To Watch

Eddie Reese. The Jaguars leading scorer on the season, he is averaging just over 16 points per contest. He also happens to be shooting over 45% from the 3pt range on the season. Against South Dakota State Reese scored 21 points he also nearly posted a double-double adding 9 assists to his totals. If Reese is not their go to, Iowa State will have to slow down Sidney Umude and Richard Lee as both these guys have shown they can get to 20 points.

What Happens

This one shouldn’t even be close by the final horn. Southern looks to be historically bad on defense and that should allow Iowa State to continue to work on their rotations and get valuable reps against another opponent as we move towards the Big 12 season. I also don’t see anyone reason Iowa State shouldn’t completely shut down the Jaguars on the defensive end of the floor as well, but since we are in that sleepy time of scheduling Southern may be closer than most of us really think they should be.I think we may see Iowa State get near 100 on the day and walk right into finals with another win on the season.

Iowa State - 99 Southern - 70

Pick Three

1-Iowa State has 10+ steals

2-Cameron Lard finally shows some confidence

3- Michael Jacobsen does not fight anyone

Game Notes

The Matchup: Iowa State (7-2, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Southern (1-8, 0-0 SWAC)

Where: Ames, Iowa - Hilton Coliseum (14,384)

When: Sunday, Dec. 9, 5 p.m. (CST)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/TuneIn Radio Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

TV: Cyclones.tv Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

Webcast: Cyclones.tv

Sirius/XM/Internet: NA/NA/973 (internet)

Live Stats: Cyclonestats.com